# Closed Alpha Testing Phase #1 Contest: Closing & Winners Announcement

## DRAFT

We are officially concluding the **Closed Alpha Testing Phase #1 Contest**. Ranks and orders have been determined based on the following key criteria:

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## **Evaluation Criteria**

1️⃣ **Number of Active Nodes**\
The total number of active nodes maintained during the contest period contributed significantly to rank determination.

2️⃣ **Node Stats Performance**\
Metrics such as **Create**, **Precommit**, and **Commit** points were used as the primary sorting parameters.\
🔹 **Ping & Global Ping** were excluded from the evaluation due to their deterministic nature.\
🔹 The **Prepare** state was not included due to a counting bug that impacted its reliability.

Participants can view the leaderboard and verify scores by sorting or multi-sorting based on the above criteria directly through the **dashboard leaderboard**.

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## **Privacy & Security Measures**

For privacy and security reasons, we have contacted the winners through:

1. **Email** (primary contact method)
2. **Discord**
3. **Telegram**

We will not share personal information or detailed node identities here, but participants can identify winning nodes via the leaderboard.

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## **Prize Structure Adjustments**

During this contest, we identified areas for improvement in the prize structure:\
🔸 **Current Contest Prize Distribution:**

* The **top-ranked participants** received significant portions of the rewards.
* Participants ranked **31st to 100th** will each receive **$10 worth of $COR** as a participation incentive.

🔸 **Future Contests:**\
We will implement a **flattened prize structure** to incentivize broader participation and ensure more participants are rewarded proportionally.

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## **Key Observations & Improvements**

1. **Leaderboard Transparency:**\
   Participants can verify their performance on the dashboard using the provided metrics.
2. **Bug Reporting:**\
   Bug reporting and troubleshooting efforts during this phase were valuable, and we thank participants for their collaboration.
3. **Incentivization:**\
   We’ve recognized that the current structure requires adjustments to encourage broader engagement and participation.

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We appreciate everyone’s effort during this first phase and will integrate these learnings into **future contests**. Stay tuned for announcements about the **next round of testing**, improved prize structures, and expanded opportunities to participate!

Let’s keep building together—it’s $COR or nothing!

💡 Learn more: [Contest Leaderboard & Dashboard](https://dashboard-alpha.cortensor.network/)